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IMDbPro

Thomas the Impostor

Original title: Thomas l'imposteur
  • 1965
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
332
YOUR RATING
Emmanuelle Riva, Fabrice Rouleau, and Edith Scob in Thomas the Impostor (1965)
Drama

In the First World War, when Paris is expected to fall to the Germans, the attractive widow, Princesse de Bormes, organises a convoy of cars to evacuate the wounded from the front, and bring... Read allIn the First World War, when Paris is expected to fall to the Germans, the attractive widow, Princesse de Bormes, organises a convoy of cars to evacuate the wounded from the front, and bring them back to her villa in Paris to recuperate. The authorities will not give them passes ... Read allIn the First World War, when Paris is expected to fall to the Germans, the attractive widow, Princesse de Bormes, organises a convoy of cars to evacuate the wounded from the front, and bring them back to her villa in Paris to recuperate. The authorities will not give them passes until an innocent 16-year-old boy, Guillaume Thomas de Fontenoy, joins them and is mistake... Read all

  • Director
    • Georges Franju
  • Writers
    • Jean Cocteau
    • Michel Worms
    • Georges Franju
  • Stars
    • Emmanuelle Riva
    • Jean Servais
    • Fabrice Rouleau
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    332
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Georges Franju
    • Writers
      • Jean Cocteau
      • Michel Worms
      • Georges Franju
    • Stars
      • Emmanuelle Riva
      • Jean Servais
      • Fabrice Rouleau
    • 3User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos

    Emmanuelle Riva in Thomas the Impostor (1965)
    Emmanuelle Riva and Jean Servais in Thomas the Impostor (1965)
    Thomas the Impostor (1965)
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    Top cast

    Edit
    Emmanuelle Riva
    Emmanuelle Riva
    • La princesse de Bormes
    • (as Emmanuèle Riva)
    Jean Servais
    Jean Servais
    • Pasquel-Duport
    Fabrice Rouleau
    • Guillaume Thomas de Fontenoy
    Sophie Darès
    • Henriette
    Rosy Varte
    • Madame Valiche
    Bernard Lavalette
    • Le docteur Gentil
    Jean-Roger Caussimon
    Jean-Roger Caussimon
    • L'évêque
    Hélène Dieudonné
    Hélène Dieudonné
    • La tante de Thomas
    Jean Ozenne
    • Le comte d'Orange
    Serge Rousseau
    Jean Henry
      André Méliès
      • Le vieil homme du bal
      • (as A. Méliès)
      Bob Lerick
      • Un fusilier marin
      • (as B. Lerik)
      Raymond Jourdan
      • Le médecin militaire
      • (as R. Jourdan)
      Claudine Dalmas
        Robert Burnier
          Antoine Marin
          • Le capitaine
          • (as A. Marin)
          Michel Laclos
            • Director
              • Georges Franju
            • Writers
              • Jean Cocteau
              • Michel Worms
              • Georges Franju
            • All cast & crew
            • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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            Storyline

            Edit

            Did you know

            Edit
            • Trivia
              Sophie Darès's debut.
            • Soundtracks
              La Nouba des Tirailleurs
              Composed by François Menichetti

              Published by Decca

            User reviews3

            Review
            Review
            Featured review
            8/10
            Franju and Cocteau
            It was the last interesting movie by Georges Franju whose "les Yeux Sans Visages" is known world-wide .It was also the second time he had used Emmanuelle Riva ,one of the best actresses of the French cinema.I've got the strange feeling that Riva was so gifted a thespian French directors were afraid of her.Riva had been a perfect "Thérèse Desqueyroux" two years before.

            She portrays a princess,who ,during WW1,like rich idle women ,(see also in Martin Du Gard's "les Thibault" the character of Madame De Fontanin )transformed her town house into a hospital for the persons who were wounded in the war.Young officer Thomas helps her: actually ,the boy could not enlist,he is not really a soldier, for he is only sixteen (hence the title of the movie:"the impostor").

            George Franju used to say:"Thomas is not a hero(..)He is an adventurous dreamer who is living in a world which is the opposite of the world of his dream.And war is realistic and unfortunately dirty."

            Franju's flair for strange atmosphere and his sense of mystery are still intact ,"Thomas " is his last great movie and his directing is often dazzling:

            -a galloping horse with its mane on fire in a deserted village..

            -the flat beaches of the North Sea where land and water are as one...

            -the ambulances going through the night with a short shot of Edith Scob's face ....

            Humor is also present: a warmonger chanting "La Marseillaise " and a soldier saying "what's that?I dunno.

            And last but not least ,this scene Luis Bunuel might have loved : a priest opening the lips of a dead soldier with a knife to slip a host into his mouth!

            Today "Thomas " ,which was made two years after Cocteau's death is an overlooked movie ;and that Franju thought the Nouvelle Vague guys were b....... didn't help matters!

            Let's mention once againthe outstanding talent of Mrs Riva ,who ,after "Therese Desqueyroux" gives a superlative performance ;she's always been one of my favorite French actresses and even when the movie is mediocre (recently "Le Grand Alibi" ) ,she manages to make the best of it.Her young co-star ,Fabrice Rouleau(Raymond Rouleau's son ,he died in 2001) has fallen into oblivion but he was the young man with the child in his eyes ,a child who refuses to grow up and a forerunner of the young hero of "Die Blechtrommel" ("the tin drum").
            helpful•19
            3
            • dbdumonteil
            • Aug 11, 2006

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            Details

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            • Release date
              • May 5, 1965 (France)
            • Country of origin
              • France
            • Official site
              • René Chateau Video (France)
            • Language
              • French
            • Also known as
              • Tomás, el impostor
            • Filming locations
              • Hôtel des Invalides, Rue de Grenelle, Paris 7, Paris, France(ministry of war)
            • Production company
              • Filmel
            • See more company credits at IMDbPro

            Technical specs

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            • Runtime
              1 hour 34 minutes
            • Color
              • Black and White
            • Sound mix
              • Mono

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